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Research paper example essay prompt: Ancestor Worship - 1174 words

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Ancestor Worship 4. Compare and contrast Buddhism,
Confucianism, and Taoism. How are they similar?
How are they different? 5. Describe the Chinese
tradition of ancestor worship. -Question 4.
Buddhism Has over 300 million members, and was
founded around 2, 500 years ago in India.

The
founder is Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, or
referred to as the Enlightened One. Their major
scripture are The Triptaka, Anguttara-Nikaya,
Dhammapada, Sutta-Nipata, Samyutta-Nikaya and many
others. Buddhism today is divided into three main
sects: Theravada, or Hinayana (Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Burma, Cambodia), Mahayana (China,
Japan, Vietnam, Korea), and Vajrayana (Tibet,
Mongolia and Japan). Their Life goal is Nirvana (A
place of great condition, or complete Bliss).
Toward that end, Buddha's teachings are capsulized
in the Four Noble Truths: The truth of suffering:
Suffering, duhkha, is the central fact of life.
Being born is pain, growing old is pain, sickness
is pain, death is pain. Union with what we dislike
is pain, separation from what we like is pain, not
obtaining what we desire is pain.

The truth of the
origin (samudaya) of suffering: The cause of
suffering is the desire (iccha), craving (tanha)
or thirst (tishna) for sensual pleasures, for
existence and experience, for worldly possessions
and power. This craving binds one to the wheel of
rebirth, samsara. The truth of cessation (nirodha)
of suffering: Suffering can be brought to an end
only by the complete cessation of desires-the
forsaking, relinquishing and detaching of oneself
from desire and craving. The truth of the path
(marga) to ending suffering: The means to the end
of suffering is the Nobel Eightfold Path (arya
ashtanga marga), right belief, right thought,
right speech, right action, right livelihood,
right effort, right mindfulness and right
meditation. CONFUCIANISM Adherents, Estimated at
350 million, mostly in China, Japan, Burma and
Thailand.

Understand his relationship to the
heavens and earth. Beginning as early as the
prehistoric age, it is evident from cave paintings
that religious rites may have been used to ensure
the success of hunting, fertility, and harvests.
Confucianism began about 2,500 years ago in China.
The founder Supreme Sage K'ung-fu-tsu (Confucius)
and Secong Sage Meng-tzu (Mencius). Its, Doctrine
of the Mean, Great Learning and Mencius.
Confucianism has been for over 25 centuries, the
dominant philosophical system in China and the
guiding light in almost every aspect of Chinese
life. Confucius and his followers traveled
throughout the many feudal states of the Chinese
empire, persuading rulers to adopt his social
reforms. They did not offer a point-by-point
program, but stressed instead the Way, or One
Thread, Jen, which is (translated as humanity or
love) that runs through all Confucius' teachings.
They urged individuals to strive for perfect
virtue, righteousness (called Yi) and improvement
of character.

They taught the importance of
harmony in the family, order in the state and
peace in the empire, which they saw as inherently
interdependent. Teachings emphasize a code of
conduct, self-cultivation and propriety - and thus
the attainment of social and national order.
Stress is more on human duty and the ideal of the
superior man than on a divine or supramundane
Reality. Still, Confucius fasted, worshiped the
ancestors, attended sacrifices and sought to live
in harmony with Heaven. Confucianism is now
enjoying a renaissance in China. TAOISM
(pronounced Dow-ism) Taoism is China's oldest
indigenous religion.

Dating from the Han Dynasty
(206 B.C.E. --- 220 A.D.), Its 81 chapters have
been translated into English more times than any
other Chinese document. It was founded and began
2, 500 years ago in China. The founder is Lao-tzu
whom Confucius described as a dragon riding the
wind and clouds. Their major scriptures are The
Tao-te-Ching, or Book of Reasons and Virtue, is
among the shortest of all scriptures, containing
only 5,000 words.

Also central are the sacred
writings of Chuang-tsu. It is estimated that there
are 50 million adherents, mostly in China and
other parts of Asia. Taoism is a potently mystical
tradition, so interpretations have been diverse
and its sects are many. Taoism teaches that
everyone should try to achieve two goals,
happiness and immortality. The religion has many
practices and ceremonies, intended to help people.
They include prayer, magic, special diets,
breath-control, meditation, and recitation of
scriptures.

Taoists also believe in astrology,
fortune telling, witchcraft and communication with
the spirits of the dead. Taoists worship more
deities than do the followers of almost any other
religion. Some deities are ancestors and others
are the spirits of famous people. Taoism borrowed
heavily from Buddhism. Many Taoist deities,
temples and ceremonies show the influence of
Buddhism.

By A.D.1000, Taoism had divided into
many sects. Some of the sects withdrew from daily
routine to meditate and study in Monasteries.
Other sects were based in temples. The temple
priests passed on their position to their
children. They gained a reputation as highly
skilled magicians, who could predict the future,
protect believers from illness, accidents and
other misfortunes. Confucianism, Buddhism and
Taoism have been the major religions in China.

But
Confucianism had the greatest impact on the
Chinese society. It was the State religion of
China from 100 B.C. to 1,900 A.D. Confucius's
scriptures called The Five Classics and Four Books
served as a foundation of the Chinese education
system for centuries. Buddha taught that people
should devote themselves to finding release from
the suffering life.

Through this release, people
will gain Nirvana - a state of perfect peace and
happiness. To acheive this Nirvana people have to
free themselves from wordly things. Buddha taught
that Nirvana could be gained by following the
middlepath between the extremes of severe
self-denial and uncontrolled passion. As Buddha
preached number of his followers increased.
Question 5. Ancestor Worship A central feature of
Chinese funerals and post-burial mortuary
practices has been the transfer of food, money and
goods to the deceased.

In return the living
expected to receive certain material benefits,
including luck, wealth, and progeny. The living
had the responsibility of sustaining the spirits
of the ancestors and protecting their graves. As
long as this reciprocal relationship was
maintained both the living and dead benefited.
However, should the descendants neglect the spirit
of ancestor by failing to make regular offerings
at his grave, the ancestor would be cut adrift in
the other-world and seek nourishment and attention
elsewhere. Ancestors abandoned in this way became
hungry ghosts, a general term for spirits of dead
people who did not have any reciprocal
relationships with the living. It was not uncommon
for an ancestor to make the transition from a
benevolent, cooperative spirit into a vengeful,
dangerous ghost.

Specialist had to be employed to
make sure that the feng-shui (wind and water)
influence was not negative. If the remains of the
deceased were not placed and arranged in the right
way things could turn out bad. Because of the
influence the dead was believed to have on
everyday life, a proper funeral was very important
and poor families often spent beyond their means.
Furthermore, funerals provided an arena for status
competition and wealthier families used their
resources to demonstrate their superiority (and
perhaps persuade their poorer neighbors about the
continuing prosperity of their descendants).
Religion Essays.